An air conditioning device of this type is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-170733 (JP 2003-170733 A). FIG. 8 hereof shows the air conditioning device disclosed JP 2003-170733 A.
As shown in FIG. 8, the air conditioning device has an air intake port 101, a shutter 102 for opening and closing the air intake port 101, a shutter case 103 that also functions as an air channel, a heat exchanger 104, a radiator 105, first and second fans 106, 107 that are disposed in parallel with regard to the width direction of the vehicle, and an engine 108. These components are sequentially disposed in an engine compartment from a front part to a back part of the vehicle 100.
When the cabin is to be heated and the shutter 102 is closed, air is blown from the engine 108 by the first fan 106, and the air is returned toward the engine 108 from the heat exchanger 104 by the second fan 107, whereby the air is circulated.
The first fan 106 and the second fan 107 rotate in mutually opposite directions. Therefore, the pressure difference increases between the left and right sides inside the shutter case 103, and air flow noise caused by the flow of the air increases. Additionally, the air flow in the shutter case 103 tends to get disrupted, the shutter 102 may vibrate due to disruptions in the air flow, thus leaving room for improvement.